Class of 2024 Welcome Activities

Saturday, September 4

10:30 a.m.       Got Balance? Mindful Wes (Hogwarts Tent)
1:00 p.m.         Waste Not Tag Sale (Garage behind 44 Brainerd Ave)
8:00 p.m.        Welcome Back to Campus Open Mic (tent behind Usdan)

Sunday, September 5

9:00 a.m.         WesBAM (Wes Body and Mind) Workouts (Fayerweather Rehearsal Studios)
10:00 a.m.       Catholic Student Organization Brunch (Zelnick Pavillion)
10:00 a.m.       Throw Culture: Ultimate Frisbee (Foss Hill)
2:30 p.m.         Wesleyan Student Assembly Info Session (Usdan 108)
3:00 p.m.         Meet the Muslim Student Association (Usdan 110)
3:00 p.m.         Wesleyan Christian Fellowship (TBD)
4:30 p.m.         Class of 2024 Photo and Welcome from President Roth (behind Olin Library)
6:00 p.m.         “Sunday Serenade” A Cappella Concert (Memorial Chapel)
8:00 p.m.         Wesleyan Jewish Community S’mores Night (Bayit backyard)
9:15 p.m.          Residential Community Meetings

Monday, September 6

12:00 noon     Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Wesleyan (Albritton 022)

Tuesday, September 7

12:30 p.m.       Navigating COVID-19 Boundaries (online)

Wednesday, September 8

11:30 a.m.        Getting around Middletown 101 (Huss Courtyard)
12:00 noon      Health Professions Overview for your First and Second Year
12:00 noon      CAPS 101
1:00 p.m          Consent@Wes for the Class of 2024 (Usdan 108 and online)
3:30 p.m          Student Affairs and Financial Aid Open House (North College 2nd floor)

Thursday, September 9

11:00 a.m.       Study Abroad Fair (online)
11:00 a.m.       Student Employment Fair (Usdan Tent)
12:00 noon     CAPS 101
4:30 p.m.        Class of 2024 Welcome Reception with Dean Mike and Dean Phillips (Labyrinth tent)
7:00 p.m.        Theater Fall Productions Info Session (Online)
8:00 p.m.        Screening: Singing in the Rain (Goldsmith Family Cinema)

Friday, September 10

1:00 p.m.         Writing at Wesleyan (Shapiro Center for Writing)
2:00 p.m.         IDEAS Lab Open House
2:00 p.m.         Student Involvement Fair
4:30 p.m.         Introduction to Student Journalism and the Argus
8:00 p.m.         Screening: Nomadland (Goldsmith Family Cinema)

Saturday, September 11

8:00 p.m.         Screening: Beatriz at Dinner (Goldsmith Family Cinema)

“Be-Friend” Initiative

What is be-friend?
BE-FRIEND aims to pair Wes students with each other to connect and share thoughts, ideas, and themselves. It is open to all Wed students regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or ability. We hope to foster connections in the midst of a time characterized by social distancing and disconnect.

How it works:
Interested participants will complete an initial survey designed to help the chaplain’s office pair you with someone based on your preferences, including faith or no-faith tradition, gender identity, race/ethnicity/ethnic identity, and any specific preference you might have.

The program will begin on March 22 and go through the end of April. If the pair of “friends” want to continue to meet, in-person or online, that’s up to them. We will gather safely outside in early May to enjoy a celebratory meal (provided by a local restaurant). For those participating from elsewhere, we will mail a care package to their preferred address. Each participant will receive a free t-shirt.

Here is the link to the survey: https://forms.gle/qE1HTwXpPQJMm9GZ8

Understanding, Validating & Healing From Trauma

You are invited to participate in a two-part series we will be offering to students in the Wes community regarding personal trauma and substance use on campus.

In the first part, Understanding, Validating & Healing From Trauma, Demetrius Colvin (SRC), Jami Carlacio (ORSL), and September Johnson (WesWell) will speak about various forms of trauma they have encountered and the coping mechanisms- both healthy and unhealthy- that they have used to deal with it. In the second part, Coping and Connecting in Crisis: Substance Use and Self-Care During College, the speakers will share their experience as it relates to substance use (in the family and personally) and again, how they found hope by using effective coping skills and seeking help.

The presentation blends storytelling with professional knowledge and aims to reach students through presenters personal accounts of trauma and substance use. The focus ultimately centers on coping, recovery, and resilience, with the message being that life is messy but/and that we can emerge from it whole when we have the right support and resources.  We ask that you promote these two events with students, staff, and/or faculty you know who may benefit from it, whether as a trauma sufferer/survivor or as a resource for anyone who might need help. To be clear, we hope to start a campus-wide conversation about the increased intensity of challenges facing college students today as they navigate illness, death, isolation, fear, and insecurity due to the pandemic and to the effects of structural racism.

The presentations will be held on:

Wednesday March 3 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Zoom Link: https://tinyurl.com/validatingtrauma
Facebook Link

Wednesday March 10 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Zoom Link: https://tinyurl.com/copingincrisis
Facebook Link

Please reach out to us if you have questions or comments, and thank you in advance for spreading the message.

Sincerely,

Demetrius Colvin, Jami Carlacio, and September Johnson